Automobile-steering-gear lock.



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

HIRAM W. roo'rn, or LosANGELEs, CALIFORNIA.

etrroivronrLia-s'rnrranve-enan Loox.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. '9, 1917.

Application led February 21, 1916. Serial No. 79,542.

To all 'whom t may concern; n

Be itknown that I HIRAM 'W. FooTE, a

citizen of the United tates, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented .new and useful Improvements in Automobile-Steen.

ing-Gear Locks, of which the following is a specification. n

My invention relates to an automobile steering gear lock.

It is an object of-my invention to provide locking means adapted to be mounted at a convenient point upon' the steering column vvof an automobile for engagement with the 15.

steering shaft.

Another object is to provide means for locking the steering shaft of an automobile against rotation in various positions so that the front'wheels of the automobile may be locked at an' angle to the automobile body or in alinement therewith.

Anotherobject is to provide said locking means with a pair of tumbler barrels with contained tumbler-s, so arranged that they may be operated simultaneously by a single key and will release the steering shaft from engagement with the bolt of the lock, and so that a wide variation of lock combinations may be formed.

Another object is to provide said locking mechanism with a simple and effective bolt guard and releasing device whereby the lock bolt will be prevented from accidentally' lmoving into locking engagement with the steering oear shaft.

lt is a further obgect to provide a 'shield for said bolt releasing mechanism to prevent s the possibility of the bolt releasing device MSl The invention is illustrated in the accom.

panying drawings in which:

Figure 1 isv a. view in side elevation of the steering gear of an automobile and showing my locking device as applied thereto. Fig.

2 isa view in longitudinal section'of my locking mechanism andthe steering column adjacent to its mounting as seen on theline 2-2 of Fig. 3 in the. direction indicated by the arrows.' Fig. 3 isa vertical section taken y along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and particu- -larly discloses the arrangement of the tumbler barrels with containedl tumblers and the bolt releasing mechanism. "\Fig. 4 is a hori zontal section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2

showing the longitudinal slots adapted to be engaged by thebolt of my locking device and formed in the steering shaft. Fig. 5 is a l horizontal section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 and discloses the bolt releasing 'mechanism and its mounting.

More specifically, 10 indicates a steering gear of an automobile as mounted upon the automobile body 11 by means of a mounting bracket 12. The steering gearlO consists of an outer casing or steering column 13 having a steering shaft 14rotatabl mounted within it and extending the fullI The steering shaft 14 has a steering wheel length thereof. A

15 rigidly secured at its upper end, said v wheel being adapted to rotate the shaft. Upon the opposite or lower end of the steering shaft is rigidly mounted a steering arm or bell-crank 1G which is engaged by the socket 17 of a drag-link 18. The drag-'link leads to a system of links and levers which connect to the steering knuckles of the .vehicle and which knuckles are actuated thereby for guiding the automobile.

4 My invention primarily resides ini'a locking mechanism 19 mounted upon the steering column and adapted ,to "lock the steering shaft. against rotation.. This inturn locks the front wheels of the automobile against movement and in so doing makes it impractical for those 'maliciously inclined to control the. car or drive it away. `The locking device 19 embodiesan annular sleeve 2O of an inside diameter approximate to that of the'outside diameter of the steering column 13. Formed upon one side of said sleeve is a base portion 21 having its outer face in a single plane and'extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the steering column.

Formed upon the flat face of said base are two standards 22 and 23. The standard 22 is provided to form a mounting for a bolt releasing mechanism which will be hereafter described. The standard 23 extends at right angles tothe base and is slotted at its outer end 24: to form a-pivotal mounting for a. lockingbolt 25 secured within the standshank and extending at right angles thereto.

The bolt 28 is adapted to pass through an opening 29 in the base portion 21 and a similar opening in the steering column and into engagement with one of a series of longitudinally extending parallel depressions or slots 30 formed around the outer periphery of the steering shaft.

I have here shown the slots 30 as three in number and it is intended that they be so, arranged that when the bolt is in the central slot the car is locked with its wheels positioned parallel to the car body and that when the bolt is in engagement with either of the other slots the fron'J wheels will be turned and locked at an angle to the right or the left of the car body.

The bolt member 25 normally tends to move toward the surface of the steering column, for which purpose a Hat spring 31 is provided, which spring is mounted at one end on the standard 23 and has its opposite end bearing against the back of the bolt shank 27.

To oppose the action of the spring 31 I have provided a key operated actuating means by which the bolt will be raised from engagement with the steering shaft. Said means consists of a system of lock tumbler barrels 32 and 33 with contained tumblers, said tumbler barrels being mounted to rotate within mountings 34 and 35 formed upon the inner faces of the parallel sides 36 and 37 of the lock housing. These tumbler barrels are so arranged in relation to each other that their longitudinal axes are the same and that a space 38 inter-venes between their adjacent inwardly projecting ends. .The space 38 is of suiicient width to allow the movement of the lock bolt 25 between the two tumbler barrels. This movement is afforded by means of a lug 39 formed upon and extending at right angles to the inner face of tumbler barrel 33. This lug extends beneath the shank of the boltand when the proper key is inserted through the tumbler barrels and the latter turned the' lugI will engage' and lift the bolt. yThe movement of the lug 39 is limited by stops40 and41 positioned in its path of trave `It will be seen that the bolt of my locking device mty be operated both tol rise and fall b V means of the tumbler -barrels `and key1 hereinbefore described. This, however, is a rather inconvenient operation when the car is left hurriedly as Ithekey will have to beinserted through the tumbler barrels and the bolt relieved. To make it possible for the car to be quickly locked, I have provided a lock bolt releasing mechanism for instantly shaft. -Thismechanism consists of an angular member 42 having one 'of its legs 43 extending alongside the wall 36 ot' the' houslng. The opposite leg 44 extends at right langlesthereto and bears upon the face of the base portion 21. The portion 44 has `formed upo its one edge a bolt obstructing guard 45,. The portion 45 constitutes a slide guard ,and is adapted to normally lie over the opening 29 in the base 21 and in this manner obstructs th`e path of travel of the bolt portion 28. Movement is afforded the angular member 42 by means of a push button 46 which extends through the wall of the housing and lies within a shield 47 mounted-upon the outside of the housing. A pin 48 is secured tothe angular member and is slidably mounted within the standard 22. It will thus be seen that when the button is pushed the angular member will move toward the standard 22 and'thus carry the guard 45 out of the path of travel of the bolt. A spring 49 acts against the button and tends 'to draw the member' 42 into its position with the guard 45 over the slot 29. By this means the bolt is instantly released without the use of thc key and allowed to drop into register with one of the slots 30 upon the steering shaft.

The above mechanism is inclosed within a housing 50` having all of` its sides either brazed together or secured by screws, the heads ot' which-are liled olf making it impossible for one to gain access to the mechanism without considerable effort. The housing is in turn preferably brazed to the steering column.

The operation of the invention is as follows: Assume the lock to be in its unlocked position, that is with the bolt 28 retracted in opposition to the spring 31 and wheld in this position by the slide guard 45 which will be positioned between the locking end of the bolt 28 and the opening 29. The tumbler barrel.33 may then be positioned withthe pin 39 extending adjacent the stem 27 of the bolt or it may be disposed adjacent the lug 41, according to the position assumed by the tumbler barrel on withdrawal ot' the key; the tumbler barrel 33 being free to turn within the limit of movement of the pin 39 between the bolt and the lug 4l.' lVhen it is desired to throw the bolt, the button 46 is depressed to move the slide guard 45 from beneath the bolt, whereupon the spring 31 will project the bolt into engagement with a slot 30 or in contact with the surface of the shaft 14 so that when the latter is turned the bolt will move into engagement with a slot on same being positioned to register with the bolt. The spring 31 will then operate to hold the bolt in its projected locking position,-and

the "in I* bler barrel and introduced into the slot` in the inner tumbler'barrel, whereupon the key and tumbler barrels are turned to cause the pin -39 to engage' the bolt and retract same I 1n opposition tothe spring 31. When the bolt has been retracted a sulicient distance to clear the lu 41, the spring 49 wil'loperate to shiftt e lug and interpose it between the bolt and the slot 29, thus restoring the lock to its unlocked position, whereit is securely held against accidental engagement,y

with the shaft by the 'slide guard. The tumbler barrels'may then be turned to their porriil position with the pin 39 against the ug y What claim' is:

l. Thecombination with a steering column having an opening, and a steering shaft turnable Within the column formed with a slot arranged to register ywiththe 4opening in the column, of a lock housing on the column', a guard slidably mounted in the housin arranged to covery the opening inthe co umn, means for normally holding the l guard in an advanced position, a pivoted spring-pressed bolt in the housing arranged to seat on the guard, means 'for retracting the guard from the exterior of the housing lto releasethe bolt and allow it to advance through the opening into engagement with the slot in the shaft, andkey controlled means for retracting the bolt.

y 2. The combination with a steering col umn having an opening, and a steering shaft turnable within the column formed with a position.

slot arranged to re ster with the opening in the'column, of a ook housing onthe column, a -guard slidably mounted in the housing arranged to cover the opening in the column, means for normally holding the guard in anj advanced position, a pivoted spring-l pressed bolt in the housing arranged to seat Y on the guard, means for retracting the guard from the exterior of the housing to release the bolt and allow it to advance through the opening into ,engagement with the slot in the shaft, a key controlled tumbler, and a pin on said tumbler positioned in the path of travel of the bolt and adapted, on turning ofthe tumbler in one direction, to move the bolt to its retracted position.

3. A lock, comprising a` housing formed with an opening, a spring-pressed' guard slidably mounted in the housing normally projecting over the opening, a pivoted spring-pressed bolt in the housing arranged' to normally seat on the guard, means for retracting the guard from the exterior of the housing to release the bolt and allow it-to advance through the opening, and key-controlled means for retracting the bolt.

4l A lock, comprising a housing formed with an opening, a spring-pressed guard 'slidably mounted in the housing normally the housingto releasethe bolt and allow it to advance through the opening, a key-controlled tumbler, and means on said tumbler adapted to engage the bolt when turning the tumbler to move'the bolt to its retracted Intestimony whereof I have, signed my A,

name to this specification.

HIRAM W. Foo'rn.- 

